U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum’s, R-Pa., “Keep Up the Fight” tour made
a stop in McKean County on Saturday.
At 8:15 a.m., Santorum was at Beacon Light Behavioral Health
Systems in Bradford, where he spoke briefly about his concerns
about people with disabilities, especially autism; his 12-year
record in the Senate; and then toured several of the units at
Beacon Light, a tour conducted by Tom Urban, president and chief
executive officer of the non-profit agency.
McKean County GOP Chairman C. Russell Johnson introduced
Santorum.
Johnson said, “I was there when Rick announced his candidacy for
the U.S. House of Representatives, and he won in a Democratic
district. I was also there when he announced that he would run for
the U.S. Senate in 1994 and for re-election six years later.”
In thanking Johnson for those remarks, Santorum said, “This is
one of my favorite places to visit. In the past, I have received
about 70 percent of the vote here. I share your values and view of
the world. It’s fun to be here.”
Santorum thanked the dedication of those parents and providers,
some of whom were present, who help children overcome
disabilities.
The two-term senator, said he became more aware of autism when
one of his aides has a child with the disorder.
“I realize it’s a difficult job to raise children today, and for
the community to step forward and help parents is a step you can be
proud of,” Santorum said.
One of his major missions while in the Senate, Santorum said,
has been fighting for non-profit agencies. He said that recent
efforts in the Senate have been to intensify the fight against
these organizations, making them the targets of more federal
control and local taxes.
Santorum said, “I stood up and defended non-profits in a hearing
on a tax bill that was written to revising regulations, and we kept
in place items favorable for the non-profits.”
Santorum noted that he and U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.,
were co-sponsors of the Combat Autism bill which unanimously passed
the Senate and is now in the House.
“This legislation places emphasis on screening and education and
promotes awareness to find answers for the parents of autistic
children,” Santorum said.
The senator said he realizes the difficulty of agencies like
Beacon Light have in securing money to maintain social services,
and said “Beacon Light is doing a superb job, and you should be
proud of your achievements.”
On another issue, Santorum told the audience that he has been “a
voice for rural Pennsylvania.” Recognizing that agriculture is the
state’s number one industry, Santorum has served on the Senate’s
Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Committee, the first senator from
the Keystone State in 100 years to gain a seat on this panel.
According to Santorum, he teamed with U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl,
D-Wis., in leading the fight to extend the life of the Milk Income
Loss Contracts for two more years. It was set to expire last year.
MILC supports the dairy industry with direct payments to milk
producers when the price per hundred pounds falls below $16.94.
Last winter, President Bush signed the bill extending the life of
the program.
Traditionally, Santorum said, senators from the farm states in
the Midwest and South served on the Agricultural Committee, and
they were able to draft farm legislation to their liking. As a
member of the Agriculture Committee, Santorum said his work on
behalf of the farmers have added additional subsidies for special
crops such as fruits and vegetables.
Santorum said that since he helped rewrite the federal crop
insurance legislation, the number of farmers with this coverage has
grown from four percent to more than 40 percent.
Speaking about this election in which he is facing off against
state Treasurer Bob Casey Jr., – it has drawn national attention –
Santorum said, “This is a tough election. The key for us is to get
out a lot of people to vote. Getting out the vote activities mean a
lot to us.
“We have a new computerized system where our volunteers may sign
up to make phone calls from their homes. The volunteers can fill
out a form online, and send the results to our campaign. They can
do this on their own.
“This not only identifies voters friendly to us, but it also
gives us a better understanding of the issues.”
Santorum reminded the audience that for 12 years he has kept his
pledge to visit each one of the state’s 67 counties every year in
order to learn about the residents’ thoughts and concerns.
Re-election to the Senate will allow Santorum to do a lot more
for Pennsylvania, said the state’s junior senator.
“One of the differences between me and my opponent is who will
fight more for Pennsylvania agriculture.”
During his Power Point presentation about Beacon Light, Urban
said, “Beacon Light performs a vital service to the community, and
we appreciate the opportunity to share our work with you.”
Three companies comprise Beacon Light: the Childrens’ Home of
Bradford, dating from 1886; Ramsbottom Center, established in 1978;
and the Children’s Center for Treatment and Education, founded in
1993.
Beacon Light operates residential, community and educational
programs, Urban said.
During 2005-06, 331 consumers received services from the
residential programs which include juvenile sexual offenders’
treatment, emergency shelter services and foster care.
In this same time, 331 consumers were served by the community
programs, which count mobile therapy, clinical wrap-around services
and psychological evaluations.
In the educational sector at Beacon Light are the alternative
education which allows the students to graduate from high school
and courses of study designed for regular education, life skills
and autistic students, and other classes for adult day services.
During 2005-06, 412 consumers received this services.
Urban told Santorum about several critical issues facing rural
agencies like Beacon Light. Besides coping with changes in federal
subsidies and their administration, there is the problem of
recruiting psychiatrists to the area.
He also talked about the economic impact of beacon light
services have on McKean and Elk counties. It’s a $9 million payroll
for the agency’s staff in McKean County while in Elk County it’s a
$1.7 million payroll that Beacon Light services generate.
Santorum left Bradford Saturday morning for another campaign
stop in Coudersport.
